Microsoft Layoffs 2009: 5,000 Jobs Cut

Microsoft Layoffs

The company announced a round of layoffs as part of its second-quarter report this morning. Five-thousand workers will get the ax over the next year-and-a-half.

The Microsoft job cuts will span across several departments, including research and development, marketing, sales, finance, legal, human resources, and IT. The first round of cuts will occur today with the elimination of 1,400 positions. The majority of the Microsoft layoffs will come from the company’s Redmond headquarters.

Microsoft reported a revenue of $16.63 billion for the second quarter, up 2 percent from the same period last year. Client revenue, however, was down 8 percent — a drop blamed on “PC market weakness and a continued shift to lower priced netbooks.” Some analysts tied the statement directly to the struggle of the Vista operating system.

You can see the full report of the Microsoft results here. The Seattle Times also provides some good perspective with a look at past Microsoft job cuts dating back to 1996.